Q replaces N in Balochistan

QUETTA: PML-Q’s Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo Saturday took oath as the 16th Chief Minister of Balochistan after Sanaullah Zehri stepped down ahead of a no-confidence motion against him. Governor Muhammad Khan Achakzai administered the oath to Bizenjo.

During the assembly session, Speaker Raheela Hameed Durrani announced Bizenjo’s election as chief minister. Bizenjo thanked all the lawmakers for their support. The election took place amid tight security in and around the assembly building. All the roads linking areas to the assembly were sealed. The traffic police had appealed to citizens to avoid travelling on Zarghoon Road and use alternative routes from 9am to 9pm.

The contest was held between the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) candidate Bizenjo and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) member Agha Syed Liaquat Ali.

Out of a total of 51 votes, Bizenjo and Liaquat Ali secured 41 and 13 votes respectively. Eight National Party members remained absent, while three voted for Bizenjo. One PkMAP member Manzoor Kakar voted for Bizenjo. Bizenjo is the third chief minister in the four-and-a-half years. Another PkMAP candidate Abdul Rahim Ziyaratwal, who had filed his nomination papers had quit the race.

Besides his party, Bizenjo had complete support of disgruntled members of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl).

A 14-memebr cabinet was also sworn in. The newly appointed ministers include Mir Jangez Khan Marri, Mir Sarfaraz Khan Bugti, Sardar Sarfaraz Khan Domki, Mir Tahir Mehmood Khan, Mrs Rahat Jamali, Abdul Majeeb Abro, Mir Asim Kurd Giloo, Mir Amir Rind, Ghulam Dastagir Badini, Muhammad Akbar Askani, Sheikh Jafar Khan Mandokhel, Agha Raza Manzoor Ahmed Kakar, and Prince Ahmed Ali.

The chief minister has picked five advisers from all the parties. Speaking to reporters on the assembly premises soon after his election, Bizenjo said his government would complete the constitutional term.

"And if somebody made any attempt to dissolve Parliament I will fully resist.” The chief minister said he never said that senior politicians had done anything wrong. “The angry Baloch people are our brothers who have been misled. We would try to bring them in the national mainstream, but targeting innocent people and damaging national assets is terrorism which would not be tolerated at any cost,” he said. “We launched a movement against the previous government in a democratic manner. The media supported us and we thank them for their support because this land belongs to all of us and we have to play role for its development,” he said. Bizenjo said it was incorrect to claim that ‘we launched our movement in an undemocratic manner.

We launched a successful campaign respecting democratic values and the Constitution. All the parties supported us. We received a good message from former chief minister Nawab Sanaullah Zehri and we regard it,” he said. Bizenjo was born in Awaran on January 1, 1974, and contested elections for the first time in 2002. He was elected from the PB-41 constituency. The Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid candidate remained Deputy Speaker from 2013 to 15. He was elected as MPA from Awaran securing 544 votes, as only 1.18 percent votes were polled in the constituency.